Vipers in the Trees
Log Title: Vipers in the Trees Characters: General Hawk, Lift Ticket, Low-Light, Over Kill, Snake-Eyes, Tele-Viper 742 Location: Brazilian/Columbian border Date: 1 July 2007 TP: Luminous TP Summary: Tele-Viper 742 gets caught while upgrading a camera in the forest. Category:2007 Category:Luminous TP Category:Logs Brazilian/Columbian border Heather Pennington is very much accustomed to working in difficult places. This, however, is certainly one of the more precarious places she's worked. The temple-area surveillance video was acting wonky, so Cobra has sent her out to repair the problem. Which is no sweat for the young woman. She's brought all of her gear...and what she's discovered is a bit more than she thought she'd be dealing with. The broken surveillance cam, perched in a tall tree somewhere between the Joes logging camp and the temple, is malfunctioning for an unknown reason. She has to climb the tree to find out why it's not working. Muttering in annoyance, Pennington begins climbing the tree, the trek being made more difficult by the heavy gear pack. A lone GI Joe Tomahawk cuts through the thick air on the Brazilian/Columbian border. On board, Flint is talking to Hawk, trying to puzzle out the latest mystery that has been dropped in their lap. "So, any idea on what was going on with Miss Van Mark's visit? I doubt it was conjugal." he smirks. The Tomahawk is currently on a patrol of various emplacements near the camp, letting the two Joe commanders take a look at how things are set up. As they do so, Lift-Ticket taps the screens a little. "What the?" he asks, looking over at the Greenshirt co-pilot. Nope, it's not just his controls. "General Hawk, Flint, we're getting some radio interference. May be the terrain but it's been pretty intermittent. Something you all might want to check out." Flint smirks. "Crocodile probably bit a line. Want to check it out anyway?" General Hawk looks over to Flint, grinning a bit. "There's been a lot of signs recently that she's been looking for a reconciliation. That care package Lifeline got the other day cost some serious bread, she spared no expense. I have to admit, the chocolate truffles were very good." As Lift Ticket pipes up, Hawk frowns a bit. "Given everything that's been going on in recent weeks, my money's on a different type of reptile. We'd better take a look." Pennington continues to shimmy up the tree, her back already aching despite her being in excellent physical condition. "I didn't join up to climb trees," she grumbles in irritation, as she nears the branch where the camera is perched. Fortunately, the branch is extremely thick and sturdy, with no cracks, so she moves very carefully to settle both herself and her gear pack upon it. There's no give in the wood, no cracking. Sighing in relief, Pennington then eyes the camera, which has been placed in the crick of a bend in the trunk about 2 meters up from where she's situated. "...My god, that thing is ancient," she says in amazement, staring at the old camera. "That must be from the 1980's...who the hell thought this setup was a good idea? -- Hmph, I'll make something better right here on the spot." "Set down far enough away, I'll trek in on foot." Hawk orders Lift Ticket. "Yes sir." With that, the pilot brings the huge Tomahawk to a landing about 2 miles away from where Heather is in the tree. Hawk grabs his gear, and leaps from the chopper. "Keep your radio open, if things get hot I'll need a lift fast." "Yes sir, that's what I do best!" Lift Ticket says with a salute, lifting off and taking the chopper out of the area. Meanwhile, Hawk finds a decent enough path into the jungle, and pulls out a frequency strength meter, using it to zero in on the source of the signal. After a few turns to find the strongest signal, he heads off in that direction, taking care to avoid making a lot of sound, although he's no Snake-Eyes. The General gets all manner of strange signals on his frequency meter. Nothing strong enough to indicate an actual transmission is taking place, but certainly, there's some equipment in this vicinity that isn't normally found in the jungle. And it doesn't belong to the Joes. Up in the tree, Pennington leans up against the trunk, reaching as high as she can to try and get her hands on the faulty camera. She figures she can rig it to something MUCH better, amplify the signal, bounce it off a satellite, and have the resulting picture back at the Cobra base be much clearer. But first, she has to get her hands on that old clunker of a camera. As Pennington reaches for the camera, she tips it with her fingertips, and disturbs a hornet's nest underneath. This is exactly why the camera failed, in fact -- some hornets had decided it would make a nice nest. Unfortunately for Pennington, there's nowhere to run. "Oh nooooo~~" General Hawk frowns slightly at the odd signals, but one signal is coming out stronger than the others. Given how bad it's fluctuating, it must be the one that Lift Ticket picked up. He pushes onward, now only a hundred yards from the tree. His M-16 is unslung, safety off, carried in one hand as the meter continues its work. "This can't be from the temple... and it can't be from our equipment, it's too far to the north." he says with a frown. "Whatever it is, I'll know soon enough." His ears perk up, however, when he hears a shout from ahead. "What the!?" Keeping to the shadows, he slides the meter into his pocket and brings up his M-16 as he picks up the pace. There's another louder and more irritated howl -- and it's NOT a howler monkey. It's a Tele-Viper, perched on the branch of a tree about 30 feet up. It's difficult to tell what she's doing up there, simply because it's up in the canopy and it's hard to see. But she's in some sort of distress. She fumbles, and very nearly falls off the branch -- but she catches herself in time, and hauls herself back up onto the branch. General Hawk kneels down in some brush below the tree, pulling out a pair of binoculars to get a look up in the canopy. "Camera equipment... and that doesn't look like a local." Adjusting the knob on the glasses, he zooms in closer to get a better look at the person in the tree. The headwear, the backpack, the general look of the uniform are telling signs to the Joe commander. "A Viper... Tele, from the looks of it. Flint was right, there were reptiles around, but it's no crocodile." he mutters to himself, cocking his rifle as he settles in. She has to come down eventually, and when she does, he'll be waiting. For the time being, the Tele-Viper remains in the tree. She sprays something with a long hissing sound, then waits for a bit. Up in the tree, Pennington decides to kill off the attacking hornets with some WD-40 spray she has in her pack. Eventually, the hornets get smothered and die, and she's able to nab the camera. Once it's in her hands, she wipes it off thoroughly with a towel, then begins to work on it. A large, bright blue dragonesque BAT carrier flies into view, a tell tale sign of Over Kill's presence in the area. It hovers towards the coordinates sent to it, circling around a tree. The vector flies in very small, tight circles, about ten feet off of the ground. From somewhere inside its belly, Over Kill radios out loud. "Can you reach his head. He'll hold still. He's very gentle. Don't be afraid.." oh yeah. Gentle. Don't mind the Gatling guns. Pennington glances up at the sudden appearance of the Vector, and her visor flashes, 'WTF??' in big letters. "What?? Over Kill...no, I mean...I'm not *done*. This has to get fixed. Thank you, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I can't just leave this project, then tell the Major I didn't complete it and my deployment was a waste of time." Over Kill pauses. "Well he can wait here until you are done. You'll probably need a ride down at least." the vector swishes its tail perhaps impatiently. Over Kill murmurs to it. "Patience. I'm sure there's targets around." General Hawk watches as the BAT carrier arrives, and Hawk frowns. "So much for doubt..." Deciding for the moment to keep it quiet, he resigns himself to watch. He does, however, make some preparations. "Lift ticket, this is Hawk. Have Flint warm up the guns in that bird, we may need them. Wait for my call." The radio issues a soft, "You got it General." in Lift Ticket's voice, and he keeps his gun at the ready as he watches the machine hover above. "Damn.." "Hmmm..." Pennington glances down toward the ground, notes the distance involved, and decides she'll take Over Kill up on the offer. "OK, thanks!" she says cheerfully, deciding that things are finally looking up. She unpacks a few technical-looking components, and begins rigging up the camera for satlink capability. The vector lands under the tree, folding its wings up tightly against its back, and it's Gatling guns back. For once, it doesn't look like it's ready to attack. It keeps its head up against the tree, as if ready to be used for a ladder if need be. Its chest opens up, and the BAT commander exits, looking around. "How do we get ourselves into these situations?" it comments, shielding its eyes from the sunlight. "You landed good in the jungle canopy. I'm so proud of you." he pats the vector. The thing gives what looks like a patronizing glance down at its creator. General Hawk is very patient when it comes to his work, and this time is no exception. Knowing that Lift Ticket and Flint are nearby with a Tomahawk full of whoop ass, he's confident that things will be on a level playing field should things start to go astray. Watching as Over Kill emerges from the BAT carrier, he then returns his attention to the Viper in the tree for a few moments, as he formulates several plans. Pennington seems to be engrossed in her work, which involves the old camera, numerous lengths of wires, circuits and cables, and a lot of patience. After some time of working, she announces, "I think I've got it -- Over Kill, can you see anything from this feed?" She stares into the monitor, which then broadcasts her helmeted face on one of the Cobra frequencies. Over Kill doesn't bring out more BATs, which is a good sign. It means he's probably alone. He leans against the tree, patiently waiting. The cyborg digs in its left leg, bringing out a small new silver case. It opens the case, revealing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. It lights up casually. "Let me check... scanning feeds..." Low-Light is, luckily for Over Kill, not close enough to smell the sweet, sweet tobacco scent full of rich, flavorful goodness. Because otherwise, he'd have to cap him... General Hawk takes an opportunity to pull a TOW missile from his backpack, setting it within easy reach. He also pulls a grenade from the pack, clipping it to his jacket pocket as he watches the Cobras work on their equipment. "This close to the temple, they must be doing monitoring of what operations are left there..." he thinks. "Mmm, that's really nice, I didn't know you liked tobacco," Pennington remarks, enjoying the scent of the cig as it wafts upward into the tree canopy. Over Kill pauses. "It's a new thing for me. Brainstorm doesn't approve of it, but you know. I'm my own man or woman or whatever I am anymore. Would you like a smoke?" It motions to the vector to lower its head. The vector gingerly reaches for the very tiny pack with its mouth. "Don't take my hand. Take the pack. And try not to crush the cigarettes." General Hawk shakes his head a bit at the casual exchanges, but patience is a virtue in times like these. He continues to wait and observe. "Thank you, that's very kind," the young Tele-Viper calls down to Over Kill. She peers at the brand -- oh, yuck, generics. Not quite what she'd been hoping for, but she'll take what she can get out here. She lights it up, and puffs on it with passing interest. "If you can see this feed, then we're all set," she reminds him after exhaling a cloud of smoke. Over Kill nods "The feed's clear. Are there any more to check?" he asks. "If we get back to base, I can get you some better ones that don't come from the machine, if you know what I mean." he puts out his cigarette and gives the vector a swat on the rump. "You ready, 14?" 14? There's 14 of them now? Pennington smiles in satisfaction, then repositions the camera on the now-destroyed hornet's nest. "Great! If you can get me any of those cloves, like the kind that Seb--" She catches herself, and blushes. "Like the kind that the Major smokes. That would be great," she says, gathering up her equipment and waiting for 'Vec' to give her a lift off the branch. Over Kill gives a rather odd smile. "I know." it says softly. "I know about it. If you want, we can discuss this at base sometime. But for now." it motions with its hand. The vector follows the hand motion, moving its head to the branch where Heather is, waiting for her to climb on its neck. "Just climb on its neck. It will lower you to its chest and open a hatch. It's easier to fly inside it then on its back. You have to be pretty strong to hold on at Mach 3." "Lift Ticket, bring her in within a mile and hold her steady. I want to keep these two pinned down if at all possible until I get some answers." Hawk says into his radio. Shifting his rifle in his arms, he watches carefully as the Vector retrieves the Viper from the tree as Lift Ticket's voice returns in his headset. "Roger General, we're inbound." One of Pennington's rigs crackles momentarily, and it catches her attention. She modulates the frequency tuner, but is unable to replicate the sudden burst. She frowns as she carefully leaves the tree branch, and grabs the Vec's neck in a secure hug-hold. "...Over Kill...I got some radio activity, non-commercial. We might not be alone out here." Over Kill scowls. "Vector 14, be prepared. We should move someplace safe. Heather. Tele-Viper 742 is unprotected." the Vector Grunts as it can't really nod, lowering towards the ground. It lets Heather either leave on safe terra firma or climb into its armored chest if need be. "We'll keep you safe." General Hawk notices the increase in tension, and realizes they may be aware they're not alone. Frowning slightly, he decides to try and remove their means of escape. Pulling the grenade from his pocket, he narrows his eyes a bit as he gauges the distance between him and the hatch, and the angle he'll need to lob it at to get it into the hatch and inside the Vector. "One shot deal..." he mutters as he pulls the pin, releases the handle and with a carefully aimed toss, lobs the grenade into the air towards the open hatch... "Well, thank you, I think that I'll climb into..." This is all Pennington is able to get out, before there's a big explosion from within the Vector. "On second thought -- I think I won't," she muses, her visor flashing 'CRAP' like a scrolling marquee. Over Kill hears the pin drop. There's a sinking feeling before the vector's belly goes up like a rocket on the forth of July. "14!... Heather!" He shouts, moving to climb up the flaming Vector "Are you all right? I hope that didn't get near the fuel tanks.." "I hope that got near the fuel tanks." Hawk mutters, getting low to the ground to further hide himself. "Yes, I'm fine, but 14 is definitely *not*," Pennington notes, glancing down toward Over Kill. "What just happened??" Over Kill offers his hand towards Pennington. "I'm glad you're all right." He winces, looking to the Vector. "We're under attack. We've got to get away from the Vector. If the fire reaches the fuel tanks, it could explode. The shrapnel could kill us both." he pats the vector. "We'll avenge you my dear.." "Now." is all Hawk says into his radio to give Lift Ticket the signal to move in. He readies his rifle as he keeps an eye on the Cobras while he waits for the Tomahawk's approach. Pennington carefully reaches toward Over Kill, sliding into his arms. "I'm ready when you are -- let's get out of here!" She didn't know who was attacking, but she didn't want to hang around to find out if it was a local brand of terrorists, or the Joes themselves. Both would be bad. Over Kill has no idea who is attacking. He's fighting blind with someone to protect from local terrorists, or Joes. He hopes they're Joes. Joes are better then FAMA any day. He holds Heather with his organic arm, flipping his inorganic arm to a machine gun. It looks like something out of a bad 50's sci fi movie. All we need to do is put heather in a mini skirt, rip the top a bit, and give Over kill some really ripped muscles. Over Kill anyways, heads deeper into the jungle with his tele viper "You know. This really isn't my idea of a first date." he comments, flipping to infrared, as he looks for the enemy. Being only a mile away from Hawk's position, Lift Ticket is able to bring the Tomahawk rolling in within moments to hover over their position. Meanwhile, Hawk readies himself as he watches for their reaction. Pennington's trying to concentrate on what just bombed the Vector. She radio-scans, but can't find anything helpful. Suddenly, something Over Kill says registers in her brain, and she does a double-take. "Huh? ...First...date? What??" She sighs. "Over Kill, this isn't a date." Over Kill says dryly. "I know. I'm being sarcastic. I'm not that stupid." He scans the area, trying to find out where the grenade came from. "Come on.. show yourself. Coward.." he snarls softly, his body tensing a bit. General Hawk smirks a bit at the "coward" notation. "More like sound military strategy, I'm just evening the odds." he mutters as the Tomahawk moves into positon above. Standing up out of the grass, he has his M-16 aimed at the pair. "Right over here. Do us both a favor, and disarm that gun." he says, his finger tensed in the trigger. As the chopper hovers, a lone, black figure comes to the doorway. Next thing, he's jumping out of the chopper, connected to a zip line, and quickly hits the floor of the jungle. Wish a sharp tug, the rope comes loose and falls to the ground and Snake Eyes is in play. He moves quickly to the shadows, radioing to Hawk, "Snake in play." Over Kill hears the chopper coming overhead, though he focuses on something below. He keeps Heather behind him, making sure to keep himself between him and the Vector. He judges the trajectory. Whatever it was, it must have come from the east. He aims his gun in that direction, looking to the sky. "Backup." he snarls, recognising the voice. "General Hawk. The women are innocents." women? "If you want a fight come to me. If you want a hostage? You'll have to go through me." Pennington is uneasy about the situation, but hasn't given up hope they can still get out somehow. She has her machine gun out and ready to fire -- just in case. But having Over Kill here is a huge relief. (The women are innocents? What's he even talking about??) Joe Lieutenant General Hawk says, "Try to get into a flanking position on the other side, Snake-Eyes." Joe Snake-Eyes says, "*click click*" General Hawk whispers, "Acknowledged." into his radio, along with some additional muttered orders. "Hostage? Come on, you know us better than that. We're just going to have a little chat about what you're doing out here, and what this equipment's all about. How friendly that chat is depends on you." he replies to Over Kill, keeping the rifle aimed at them. Snake-Eyes creeps through the shadows around the right side of overkill, staying a good 20 yards out from the mechano man. He stops for a moment to bring his M4 out from where it's strapped across his chest. With a round already chambered, there's no sound as he flicks the selector from SAFE to FULL AUTO and moves slowly out from around the tree, sighting down the low powered scope at Over Kill's left ear. Over Kill tilts his head, his face is almost thoughtful for a moment. He seems fully focused on Hawk. He doesn't notice Snake-Eyes' approach at all. "You have already disabled the Vector. She may blow at any moment. Perhaps this isn't' the safest place for a chat. Besides. What you seek. Is classified information." The Tele-Viper peers around Over Kill toward Hawk, because, like Over Kill, she doesn't realize Snake-Eyes is so close, either. General Hawk smirks a bit. "That's precisely why I'm interested in it, as well as what all went on between you and Luminous several days ago. The fact that these cameras are even here within the vacinity of the temple points to the fact that Cobra is still interested in it. Why? Reports are the Autobots cleaned her clock, so what more is there for Cobra to be curious about?" Over Kill's weapon lowers "Perhaps I should ask you the same question, General. Luminous still has my soldiers. What does she have of yours?" Snake-Eyes sends a message to Hawk, but stays still other then that. Not only because he doesn't want to give away his position... well... that's the only reason, actually. He watches, he waits, with the red dot of his sight resting inside Overkills ear. Joe Snake-Eyes says, "In position. Target in sights." Joe Lieutenant General Hawk says, "Roger that. If he makes any aggressive move.. drop him." When she sees Over Kill put away his weapon, the Tele-Viper follows suit and does the same. She keeps her hand on the handle, however, paranoid of the situation and fearing it could escalate in a heartbeat. General Hawk lowers his weapon a little as well. "We have evidence that there are people trapped inside that temple, but nothing on what happened to them after that night. Their status and how to get them out is our concern." Hawk says. In response to Over Kill's mentioning of the BATs, he nods. "Yes, that explains your personal interest, but equipment like this.." he says with a nod towards the tree mounted camera, "points to something more widespread for Cobra to go to the expense." Over Kill runs his chin. "That would be Cobra's reasons. However.. Cobra has not been very forthcoming with returning my BATs." He's considering. Pennington stands there defiantly, not saying a word. She's not talking for these Joes -- no way and no how, she has her pride! General Hawk looks over towards Pennington. "Perhaps you can provide a bit more insight. I saw you working on this equipment, therefore you must know something about why it's deployed here." he asks of her. "It is what it appears to be," Pennington tells Hawk dryly. "I'm not at liberty to discuss my work." To her credit, unlike many of the Viper-types, she isn't rude...however, her tone is haughty, as if she thinks this entire situation is completely beneath her. General Hawk nods. "You must understand you're at a significant dis-advantage in this situation. You're not exactly in a position to flaunt pride." he says in a tone that says he's being firm, but not wanting this to become bloodshed if he can avoid it. He mutters into his radio softly. Joe Lieutenant General Hawk says, "Snake-Eyes... put a tracer round right between the Tele-Viper's feet." Joe Snake-Eyes says, "*click click*" Over Kill starts to pace. "I would consider assisting you. However. There is Two very important thing you have forgotten. One. You have just murdered one of my best friends there." he motions to the Vector. "And two. You are outnumbered. I'm afraid, you're going to have to die, General." he says with a rather evil smirk. "Vector 14. Initiate self destruct mode." Snake-Eyes flicks the round ejector twice and two FMJ rounds fling into the air then down to the ground. In American Military clips, every 3rd round is a tracer round, allowing him to only be down 2 FMJ rounds, and not having to eject the clip and insert a clip of fairly useless tracer rounds. He moves his aim to the ground between the Tele-Vipers feet and squeezes the trigger. There's a *FIPP* and the Magnesium round ricochets off the ground between the Vipers feet, like a laser, only to fly away and into the trees. Pennington squeals in surprise, leaping off the ground like a basketball player trying to do a layup. "The NERVE!" She says indignantly. "It's a damned camera, what do you think it's for? It's to look at things!" She sniffs in disdain, then pouts in Over Kill's direction. Whether or not he's bluffing, the Joes will have to find out the hard way. General Hawk raises an eyebrow, but grins slightly at Pennington's reaction. "One, it's still intact. If you're initiating self-destruct, you can hardly claim I 'murdered' it." Hawk says. "Two, I'm hardly outnumbered. What is the reason for the camera?" he says, keeping an eye on the vector, while flipping a switch on his back pack. The change it goes through reveals it's a jet pack. He mutters into his radio once again. Joe Lieutenant General Hawk says, "Get ready to evac if that thing goes critical, Snake-Eyes. He may be bluffing, but as crazy as he is, I'm not taking the chance." Joe Snake-Eyes says, "*click click*" Snake-Eyes switches his aim back to Over Kill. As soon as the Mechano Man starts any sort of explosion, a clip of FMJ rounds fired at sub-sonic speeds will be flying at his head. Snake waits... It was a bluff. The vector is too damaged to self destruct at this point. The thing smolders. Over Kill dives as the magnesium round is fired, trying to tackle the Tele-Viper to the ground. "Heather! Dive!" he seems almost as protective of her as he is of his BATs. "You are right. It is too damaged to self destruct. But you attempted to murder it. I was only making sure it gave its life in combat rather then allow it to be captured. She would have liked it that way." he clicks his gun into place. "We can do this one of two ways. We can go to full combat and I can destroy you and whatever friends you have in the jungle or you can let us walk out of here. Either way you will get nothing from either of us." Pennington's on the ground, now, thanks to Over Kill protecting her. "The 'reason' for the camera? Oh, come on now. Maybe we're nature lovers." General Hawk mutters into his radio as he brings his gun up once again at the ready. "Oh, come now, since when as Cobra cared much for nature? You're trying my patience. This can go easy, or it can go hard." Hawk says, watching Over Kill intently. Over Kill's right arm twitches "It can, general. It can. I'll give you a number. Because you're such a special target. I don't do this for anyone. Choose a number 1. 2. Or 3." Snake-Eyes breathes in, holds it, and squeezes the trigger between heartbeats. A five round burst of FMJ rounds streak toward the cyborgs gun arm. The rounds strike the weakest point in the arm, near the elbow. The first shatters the joint and the next two slice through the metal, flesh and bone, causing the joint to weaken, and the last two rounds, through sheer momentum, rip the weapon arm straight off of the cyborgs body. Behind the ninja mask, there's a small smile as the red aiming dot centers back on the cyborgs forehead. With a sudden terror, Pennington flees through the underbrush. She actually feels terrible about leaving Over Kill there to take the heat, but there isn't much she can do for him with her current firepower and equipment. She runs like she's never run before, biting her lip and trying to put as much distance between her and the Joes as she can. Over Kill 's arm jerks back violently as the rounds hit home. He cries out in pain, bending over and holding onto the stump of his arm, the ball and socket joint where his gun arm connects to his flesh is ripped clean from its mooring with a sickening *squick* sound as he sinks to his knees. He shakes his head, trying to clear it, his left hand, soaked with the blood from the stump of his arm moves for his left hip and the pistol holstered there. He shouts. "Just run. I'll catch up!" General Hawk shouts into his radio, "Track her, I'll deal with Over Kill." Hawk says as he keeps his M-16 trained on the cyborg. "Keep it holstered, or you'll lose another arm. The hard way it is. So, shall we get to the talking, or start trying to shoot each other to bits?" he says, the rifle barrel aiming at Over Kill's head as the finger twitches on the trigger. "I'd prefer we do this without tearing things up more than they are." Over Kill staggers backwards, his hand moving from the pistol "You..you know what you'll get from me. Name.. rank.. serial." he says distantly, looking to that stump of an arm. He hopes Heather knows better then to run back to base. That's all that's needed for the ninja. He slings the M4 and bolts from cover, following swiftly behind the fleeing viper. He moves like a shadow, ducking in and out of cover, constantly getting closer to her. He doesn't bring out any weapons, not wanting to kill the girl, just disable her. He's 15 yards away and closing quickly. General Hawk shakes his head a bit. "How about we hook you up to a terminal and let Mainframe look through your circuits for information." Hawk says, keeping the rifle trained on Over Kill. "Or we can have that chat I was talking about, and then this ends a bit more amicably." Over Kill holds his arm. "Do you think I'd let that Transformer hold my BATs if I knew anything more then you do?" He says, sinking back to his knees. "I'd clear my datafiles if it came to that." Pennington has no idea she has a ninja after her. She's just running as fast as she can possibly run with a backpack full of heavy equipment. But the heat of the jungle is oppressive. Panting breathlessly, she leans up against a tree trunk and tries to catch her breath. General Hawk nods slowly. "I'm inclined to believe you, given how much they tend to mean to you. Maybe the Tele-viper will know a bit more. Cobra has an interest in this area and I intend to find out what it is." Hawk says, settling himself into a more comfortable standing position, keeping the rifle ready. "Nothing to do but wait until they get back." Over Kill stammers a bit "Heather doesn't know much, either. We're not exactly high rankers. They don't send out the top intelligence to set up the cameras.." The rest is to her disadvantage. If she looks up, she'll see standing, not 6 feet away from her, the black clad ninja himself. He's unarmed, well, there isn't a gun in his hand at the moment. He raises his right hand and signs ~Can you understand this?~ Over Kill pauses. "But your top guys seem to be all over this area. How close are we to your base?" He starts his own interrogations. General Hawk shakes his head. "Like I said, we have a very high interest in those people that may still be trapped in that temple. Getting them out is high on our list of things to do, and we're near the temple." Hawk says. "Nothing to do with how close or how far our base may be from here. We just happened to be flying along, and we picked up the crazy signal from this camera." That much is entirely truth. The Tele-Viper stares toward the ninja nervously, not daring to budge an inch. She sees that he's signing, but she doesn't understand sign language. "Erm...no, I'm sorry, I don't speak sign," she admits, wondering if he's going to break her neck. She has no way of knowing, and it's more than a bit intimidating to be face to face with this guy. Over Kill pauses. "Tell you what. We could go in there. Get some scans of the temple. Find out who they are holding, how many people and how many BATs and you could help us destroy..." His voice trails. He starts to stare off slightly. "Hmm. Good shot there. Right in that one organic spot through the armor." Snake-Eyes sighs behind the helmet. His left fingers move quickly then over the vipers radio comes, in a cold computer voice, "Surrender. Will not be harmed." Short, to the point. Pennington sighs. She is SO going to catch it from Sebastian for allowing this routine mission turn into such a fiasco. With an unhappy pout, she places her machine gun on the ground in surrender. General Hawk ponders this for a few moments. "An interesting offer, and it's one I just might consider taking you up on. You get information you need, we get information we need, everyone wins. You get a chance to get your BATs, we get a chance to get the people out so they can be treated." Hawk says, his brow furrowed as he thinks on this. Snake-Eyes fingers move again, "Back to the cyborg. No tricks." To emphasize the point, Snake draws his knife and points with it, back the way they came. Over Kill murmurs "The Major's the one in charge. You'd have to talk to the Major." he says distantly "He'd be the one. Hmm Tired." he starts to limpen a bit. Pennington begins walking back through the forest back toward the tree which houses the camera equipment. She keeps her hands where Snake-Eyes can see them, up in the air in front of her. General Hawk raises an eyeridge at Over Kill, observing him carefully. "An interesting proposition, none-the-less. It'll take some thought, but when we have made our decision, we will send word to the Major. The question is, would he accept?" Over Kill pauses. "If you let me and The Tele-Viper go back. We could ask him." he says distantly. Snake-Eyes holds the blade underhanded and moves in close to the woman. He puts a hand on her shoulder, by her neck, and rests the sharp edge of the blade against her right kidney at a slightly raised angle. They move through the underbrush, less then quietly and come to the Cyborg and the general quite quickly. General Hawk looks up as Snake-Eyes and the Tele-Viper re-emerge, while Over Kill is on his knees. The General's M-16 is trained on the cyborg, but they appear to be having the productive conversation the General was after in the first place. "What assurance do I have that you'll do so?" he asks. "Given the events of this evening I have little reason to believe you will." Inwardly, Pennington is absolutely terrified. She's NOT infantry, and this is exactly why. She's almost certain the Joes will execute her and Over Kill. These paranoid thoughts race through her head in fear. It isn't long before they both arrive back at the original site, back with Hawk and Over Kill. Over Kill murmurs "The only assurance you have is that I want my BATs back and I want you away from what was once my citadel. Is that.. enough for you..ugn..general?" his arm is pooling quite a bit of blood by this time. He seems to be trying to stagger back to his feet slowly, his face paler then normal. Snake-Eyes stops the captured Viper a few feet away from the pair, not letting the woman go, and keeping the weapon on her back. She can probably feel two of his fingers flinch as he radios Hawk, "Mission complete." General Hawk nods over to Snake-Eyes. "Good work." he says, turning his attention back to Over Kill. "That may be good enough assurance for me." he says as he takes note of the increasing blood loss. He then looks back towards the Tele-Viper. "Over Kill and I have been having that friendly chat. He says you most likely know just as much about the reason for this surveillance as he does. Is this true?" Pennington still thinks she's about to be executed. The knife against her back isn't exactly reassuring. "Honestly, it isn't my place to know *why* the cameras were ordered," she insists. "I just have to make sure they work." Over Kill doesn't have too much to lose as he's not entirely human and all. He doesn't normally get hit in /just/ that right spot. He sees that Snake-Eyes has returned with Heather. "He found her.." he murmurs. He seems to be getting more incoherent. Must have hit an artery or something. He moves to lean against a tree, just closing his eyes a bit. General Hawk nods, looking back towards Over Kill. "All right then. Your proposal is lucrative enough to convince me to give it a shot. You need medical attention, and there's little else we can learn here. We will get you some First Aid, then we will drop you off at a place where you can arrange transportation back to your base." Over Kill looks to Heather. "We can make it back to base on our own. I can hotwire the Vector and it can fly us back. The fuel cells should still be in tact..." The young Tele-Viper nods, and looks very much sympathetic toward Over Kill's condition. "Alright..." She barely moves. She's going to feel that damned knife against her back in her DREAMS. Snake-Eyes doesn't so much as flinch with the blade until Hawk gives the word. For now, he waits, unmoving. General Hawk nods to Over Kill. "Can it get you back to your base in time?" Over Kill ndos "It can fly at speeds up to mk5. We're close enough. You..will not follow us or the vector will destroy you. It's still capable enough." General Hawk grins a bit. Spunky to the last. "If this plan is going to work, then we're going to have to have some level of trust. We will not follow." Hawk assures, then looks to Snake-Eyes, giving the ninja a nod. He then looks back to Over Kill. "All right then. Carry the proposal back to the Major. We will await the response." Snake-Eyes releases the Viper and makes the disappear back into its holster. He steps back from the woman and crosses his arm, his right hand dangerously close to his throwing knives, watching their every move. He raises his right hand for a moment and signs to Hawk, ~Remind him to take his arm with. Wouldn't want a kid finding it.~ Over Kill just suddenly stops moving. Let's hope Heather can get the Vector moving and find a way to pick up his heavy metal butt. After Over Kill passes out, the young Tele-Viper sighs. "Oh, GREAT," she grumbles. "He weighs about a zillion pounds." She begins tugging on him hard to get him toward the Vector. General Hawk slings his rifle over his shoulder, and heads over to give the Viper a hand in getting Over Kill into the Vector, snatching up the severed limb as he does. "Thank you," Pennington says grudgingly to Hawk, as with his assistance, she's able to get Over Kill into the Vector. General Hawk steps back as Over Kill is loaded, offering a nod towards the Viper. "I'll be waiting for word on the Major's response to the proposal." Hawk says tersely, then steps back out of the way of the Vector so that he won't be in the way when it lifts off. "...Alright," Pennington says, then she disappears into the burnt-out Vector. Moments later, it takes off...not the cleanest take-off, but it's flying.